Benzinga | Apr 05, 2013 08:00AM ET
U.S. equity futures declined in early pre-market trade ahead of the much anticipated Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average of economists surveyed by Bloomberg is expecting 193,000 jobs added, with the most recent changes to updates averaging closer to 173,000 jobs.
Top News
In other news around the markets:
Asian shares were mixed overnight as Japanese shares continued to climb for a fourth straight day. The Japanese Nikkei Index rose 1.58 percent while the broader Topix Index gained 2.74 percent and the Hang Seng Index slipped 2.73 percent in Hong Kong. Also, Korean shares continued to decline on war tensions as the Kospi declined 1.64 percent and Australian shares fell 0.45 percent.
European Markets
European shares were mixed overnight as Spanish and Italian shares rose and other markets fell. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.79 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.76 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.23 percent and the French CAC fell 0.28 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.62 percent.
Commodities
Commodities were mostly higher overnight despite slightly weaker oil prices. WTI Crude futures fell 0.03 percent to $93.14 per barrel and Brent Crude futures slipped 0.08 percent to $106.20 per barrel. Copper futures rose 0.51 percent to $336.55 per pound after taking a beating the last few days. Gold was higher and silver futures rose 0.63 percent to $26.86 per ounce.
Currencies
Currency markets showed dollar strength overnight as the yen halted its decline. The EUR/USD was lower at 1.2924 and the dollar fell against the yen to 96.23. Overall, the Dollar Index rose 0.06 percent on strength against the euro, the pound, the Swiss franc, and the Canadian dollar.
Pre-Market Movers
Stocks moving in the pre-market included:
On the economics calendar Friday, the Employment Situation Report is due out and economists are looking for Nonfarm Payrolls of 190,000 with Private Payrolls adding 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remaining flat at 7.7 percent. Also, the U.S. Treasury is due out and the ECRI Weekly Index will also be released.
BY Matthew Kanterman
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